Michelle Mayho always thought that if she had a daughter she would call her Dandelion.

“I always loved the name,” she said.

She finally had the chance to use it this April, when she delivered a new business, Dandelion Soaps and Body Scrubs.

Ms Mayho is already well known for FFunky Pet Beds, selling handmade pet beds and feeding stations. She started brainstorming for an additional business after taking part in the Harbourside Market at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute last Christmas.

“It went well,” she said. “It was my first time. But afterwards I thought, how can I bring more people to the table? Not everyone has a pet. I went and did some research.”

She settled on making scented candles, body scrubs, soaps and exfoliants because she liked the creative potential.

“The world is your oyster when it comes to going into the area that I chose,” she said. “You can just go crazy with the scents and the colours. I am enjoying every minute of it.”

She did extensive research on the internet to learn how to make her new products. One of her favourite websites is www.soapqueen.com.

“That has a lot of information and videos you can watch,” she said.

But the trickiest part was not making the items, it was creating the packaging and branding. She eventually settled on a black, white and gold colour theme.

“I decided simple is best,” she said. “That way it was not confusing and taking away from the product.”

Getting the word out there about her new line was not too difficult. She already had a strong following on Facebook through FFunky Pet Beds.

Dandelion items now sell at Lindos, Harrington Hundreds and the Hamilton Pharmacy.

“They are selling well,” she said. “I have already had repeat orders.”

Scents such as lavender, vanilla and peppermint are always popular but she urges her customers to be a little adventurous.

“There are other scents out there,” she said.

In fact, Ms Mayho uses more than 50 different fragrances to make her products.

“As a creator, you can mix them up and come up with your own scent and give it your own name,” she said. “I did a whipped body scrub using chocolate fragrance. My goodness, it was delicious! You wanted to eat it. I called it chocolate mint chip. Dried flowers and herbs were the chips.”

Ms Mayho feels that with all the stress going in the world right now there is a real need for her products.

“Just relax and give yourself a nice overall treatment from head to toe,” Ms Mayho said. “And when you step out of the shower, you feel fantastic — like a weight has been taken off your shoulders. Your skin is nice and soft. It is a great feeling. It will help you face whatever challenges the day brings.”

Her beauty care tip is: don’t forget to pamper your feet.

“Remember the feet are holding up our body,” she said. “And exfoliate your skin maybe twice a week. It takes off the dead skin cells and helps to moisturise and condition your skin. When you use a soap or a gel you feel your skin is smoother because you have removed that dead layer of cells.”

Now she is getting ready for the Harbourside Market again. This year she is making some gift packets for Dandelion. People can buy them as a present for someone and put it straight under the tree. She is also working on gifts for men.

“Everyone thinks the soaps, scrubs and salt baths are just for women,” she said. “They are not. Men get as stressed as we do. They are human.”

But she said men often avoid buying scented soaps and scrubs because they worry that the products are too feminine.

“But I have got a set-up for men, so the women can buy all these nice little gifts for the men in their life,” she said.

Her biggest challenge since starting Dandelion has been balancing her time.

Ms Mayho works at BGA in sales during the day and makes and packages her products in the evening.

“I also have two little dogs to care for, and other things I have to do,” she said.

But she said that her sales job has taught her a lot about time management.

“The secret is to be very well organised and focused,” she said. “I always know what I am going to do the day before.”

The Harbourside Market will be held at the BUEI on November 13 and 20.

Dandelion natural soaps and body scrubs on Facebook, call 537-1763 or e-mail mayhomichel@yahoo.com